The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-04-07

/ (From the News and Couricr)
"a Your weekly Of the 10th brings me
q Col. Youmans's rejoinder to my last
article. 1t is funny to sec how he
"abouts face" and founders from one
irrelevent statement to another, how he
lodges the issue, how much ''inky
fluid" he wastes on "cuttlo-fsh" logic.
l congratulate him, however, upon
having risen to a higher plane than mere
personal abuse, and in trying to defend
his position by something besides
"smart" retorts and school-boy wit. He
still continues to make misstatements,
but attribute this purely to those who
loaded him. lie shoots what they put
i'll his gun without knowing whether it
is lead or dough--truth or falschood.
First, he says: "Capt Tillman raised
tho cry Of catch thief against the present
board of agriculture, and then nomi-
mated himself for one of their success
sors."
The committee which selected the ten
names to constitute tho new board Of
agriculture know how utterly false is
this assertion. / have never nominated
myself for any position except that of
trustee of an agricultural college, and it
cnpnot be shown that L am "a disap-
pointed oilice-secker, who cant get in"
for have never asked for any Office in
my life.
He next quotes from my speech made
at the April Convention, to prove that |
am ''scif-confcssedly Il failure III the
management of my own torm," rs fol-
lows: 81 have been in that haStilo my
self. Have felt the waters rising higher
and higher as failure after failure in the
cotton crop left nothing Will which to
even pay interest. Had to sell some
land, &c. Well suppose I did get in
debt, and "Sold some land to get out,
does. that make me lyilurc? He asks:
'Who OF what was it then that did fui!?"
| answer: Simply, rain. have not got
store SO as to enable me to make money
whether 1t rains or not. / have never
been able to pick II large crop OF cotton
whether l grew it OF not. / have raised
some that men with stores sold, but L do
not admire that sort Of ''succcssful farm
lLg." / had rather II Thousand times 90
down with my brother farmers than
tattgn at their expense.
again, If all the mcn IN South Carroll
M who have gotten III debt IL, did or
who have made no money 'with which
TO pay interest" since 1850 villa support
the measure advocated by me, there will
be SO little opposition that it VII not be
worth counting. A member Of the
House from BarnWcll told me that coun-
ty was not represented i'll the Farmers
Convention because their farmers were
SO poor they could not atloyd to pay
their way to Columbia.
But in order to show what sort Of
failure am, am reluctantly compelled
to obtrudo some of my pnv&te affairs
upon the public. ! do this only because
the lesson may be OF vnluu 20 Others
and because Col. NouDlGns asks SO tri-
umphantly whether | am u tit person to
lead the farmers of the State or to be
placed on the board of agriculture"
/ commenced farming III 1859, with
430 acres of land and four plougAg. /
inherited ITO acres more i'll 1878. In
1885 [ owned 2,2OO acres, but owed
several thousand dOllur6-Hcurly all of it
lost in 1881. ! had cleared money every
year up to that date, and bought land
and mules right along. In 1881 | ian
thirty ploaghs, bought guano and
ratlons, &c, as usual, and The devil
tempted me to buy steam engine and
other machinery, amounting TO over two
thousand dollars, all on credit NV
motto was that cit takes money to make
money, and nothing risk, nothing have"
10 have been entirely free from debt
would have made me feel "hkc Il kite
without a TAIL" So struck out boldly
into deep water. Ben Jonson says:
eve all are mOrtals
And do have our visions"
[ had mine, and they wero very rose
hued. Uninterrupted success had made
me fool was ''hke the little wanton
boys who swim on bladders," but I did
not then know how much OF ID "bladdcr"
cotton was OH land impoverished of
vegetable matter in II dry year. The
latter part OF july began to give me an
inkling of what fraIl support it WAS
The drought came. 1t did not rain from
July 10 till late in September, and when
[ settled up had tail" enough to my
kite. J. was III Tue Cred Sea-" but did
not know it, and ] still had plenty of
confidence III myself and in my "farm-
ing" / didn't exactly think, like Scna-
thought "kneW how to farm" and J.
was cotton "plantcr" still.
Nothing daunted, in 1882 [ struck out
boldly for the shore. But thought my
kites tail was lacking little III weight,
SO bought $50 acres more land, not
doubling that it would rain aud [ would
be all right again in n year or two.
Eighteen hundred and eighty-two was
good year and L made good crops, but
there was small margin Of profit as cX-
penseg were so heaYy-corn $I.5O per
"bushei and meat IL to lG cents per
Round,11go Pc nd : only made tho payment on
the land bought, and had "nothing for
interest on tho debt Of 1881. But high
priced provisions had sickened me. /
commenced to raise hogs and plant corn
enough to do me. I subscribed for the
Country Gentleman, the best agricuI.
tnral paper in tho United States, 'o and
began to study. ''''>'
10 cut this confession short, '83, '84
ton with us. The land was sick md i
wouldn't rain when it ought to, and diG a
rain-the very heavens opened-when il
ought not to have done 50. [ made
plenty of corn and oats--began to GET =
herd of COWS and killed every year from
5000 to s, ZOO pounds Of meat, which